And as the blood runs down the walls,You see me creepin’ up these halls.

As part of the celebration of the upcoming release, The Dark Carnival— I’m freaking out— ’cause we have with us one of britain’s best, an author of dark paranormal romances and apocalyptic horror, specialising in characters with snark and old school zombies.

None Other than the lovely, Mrs Claire C Riley!!!!

And let me say this is such an honor.

What is Horror to you, and what about the genre draws you too it?

Claire: Well first I have to say that horror actually scares the crap out of me. So I can’t exactly say that I’m a fan per se. That being said, I don’t know what it is about horror that I’m so attracted to, it’s just something that calls to me and drags me in. I’ve been a fan of horror for as far back as I can remember. I can still remember watching the Chucky and Candyman films and being scared senseless yet laughing hysterically like a crazy woman at the same time. Even Hellraiser I used to watch in morbid fascination but be freaked out by.

Weirdly, I’ve found as I’ve got older I get scared much more easily than I used to, where you would think it would be the other way around. After all, as you get older you’re more aware of what is possible and what is not.

So what draws me in? Who the hell knows, but something does.

Your story in this anthology— The Dancing Bear— is quite something different, a different kind of horror, where did the inspiration come from?

Claire: I wanted to do something a little different. My first idea was a man trapped inside the bear, like his spirit, but it seemed too cliché and obvious so I tried to strip the title Dancing Bear back to its roots and think of something a little less obvious. Hence the American Indian theme.

Have you ever had a paranormal, supernatural or extraterrestrial experience?

Claire: A couple, but I remembered this one the other day and got a little freaked out. I used to do Ouija boards when I was a kid and I remember doing one in science class with some friends because the teacher had stepped out. We supposedly called up a serial killer who said he was going to visit each of us the next night. One of my friends burst out crying, she was so scared. I was too, of course and I didn’t sleep at all the next night, but thank fully he never came.

If you could give one piece of advice for an inspiring horror author what would it be?

Claire: To any author, no matter what the genre, I would say – Keep Going. Don’t write one book and then sit on it while you wait for the momentum to build. You have to keep writing, keep producing stories and one of them will eventually connect with readers. Build your own momentum.

Finally, what can we expect from the amazingly talented Mrs. Riley next?

Claire: I have SO much work coming out in the next year! Right now I’ve just finished Limerence II and that releases next Friday, and I am days away from finishing Odium Origins A Dead Saga Novella Pt Two, that should release by the end of the month. Then I want to write another story for the State of Horror anthologies from Charon Coin Press. I loved the story I did for State of Horror Illinois and the series of books is really picking up momentum now. Then I’ll be continuing on with Odium III. I also have several other anthology contributions coming up – paranormal, romance, horror – and I’m actually writing my first full length contemporary novel which I’m hugely excited for. Then of course next year I’ll be writing the third and final book in the Limerence series.

So yeah, lots planned.

Claire C Riley is a Best Selling British Horror writer.

Her work is best described as the modernization of classic, old-school horror. She fuses multi-genre elements to develop storylines that pay homage to cult-classics while still feeling fresh and cutting-edge. She writes characters that are realistic, and kills them without mercy.

Claire lives in the UK with her husband, three daughters, and one scruffy dog.

Her works namely include, old school vampires and apocalyptic zombie ridden worlds, with several full-length books, and short stories to her name, with plenty more coming up in 2014.

Awards and Accreditations.

Odium. The Dead Saga is a top #100 dystopian selling book on Amazon.com for 2013, ‘Indie book of the day’ winner December 2013 and ‘Indie Author Land 50 best self-published books worth reading 2013/14’

Limerence featured book in the ‘Guardian newspaper for best Indie novel 2013’ and is a finalist for the eFestival of Words ‘best novel’ category.

Odium II The Dead Saga is a #1 Best Selling British Horror book and top #100 dystopian book.

She is also a very proud contributor to the ‘Let’s Scare Cancer to Death’ charity anthology as well as several other anthologies such as ‘State of Horror Illinois’ & ‘Fading Hope: Humanity Unbound’.

She can be stalked at any of the following.

And there you have it folks.

Well, I can say that Claire never fails to impress or surprises, she might even shock you with her old school style. Definitely an author I will always be happy to recommend.

So show her some love, yeah?

The air has grown crisp – October is here. With October comes autumn leaves, apple cider, and the siren call of The Dark Carnival.

Will you answer its call? Will you heed the beckon?

The doors are opening.

Will you leave with your life?

Blurb:

In this anthology, several authors and illustrators explore the dark and hidden dangers that lie within a carnival that has come to town. But it is no ordinary carnival. It’s The Dark Carnival.

And when The Dark Carnival comes to town, there’s no promise that anyone can leave…alive.

Add it to your shelves – horror, anthologies, and thriller are good places to start.

Did you say you have more love? Pin the shiny new cover to Pinterest, send out some tweets, and scribe it into Facebook. You never know – show The Dark Carnival enough love, and it might just let you leave.

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I didn’t think they even made those things anymore. I hadn’t seen one at one of these fairs—well, my whole life. It was something you’d only see in a fifties movie, or some old black and white photo. And like anything classy, none of the loudmouth teenagers that frequented the fair were anywhere near it. The shadows around the Tunnel of Love were empty.

I wrapped my arms around her and headed towards the dark entryway.

The tunnel seemed even more like it was dropped out of another time as we got closer to it. Two giant cutout swans with chipping white paint formed a heart with their great necks, creating a doorway into the darkness where love was supposed to flourish. If not for the dark that invited one like me in, I would have seen the marred paint and carved in hearts with random initials on the pristine white of their feathers to be a bad sign, of something lost and something ruined.